Moistener and liquid-distributer.



No. 559,|o'9. Patented flct. 2, I900.

I c. P. SMITH.

MOI STENE-ii AND LIQUID DISTRIBUTEB.

(Application filed Sept. 25, 1899.

(No Model.)

Emma Swu wm M.

l MJ Z w: NORRIS PETERS on. PHOTD LfTNO. WASHINGTON. n. q.

Nrrnp STATES ATENT Fries;

CHARLES P. SMITH, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF TWO- THIRDS TO FRANK NEWNHAM AND CHARLES S. BEATH, OF SAME I PLACE.

IVIOISTENEB AND LIQUID-DISTRIBUTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 659,109, dated October 2, 190

Application filed September 26, 1899. Serial No. 731,675. (No model.)

To all w/tmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES P. SMITH, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Moistener and Liquid-Distributer, of which the following isa specification.

This invention is designed for applying liquids evenly and conveniently to any fabric or surface. It is applicable for rnoistening the gummed surfaces of stamps, envelops, labels, and other stickers and is also adapted for the use of tailors in moistening seams and cloth to be pressed. It can also be used for applying liquids to surfaces or for dampening fabrics or for many. other purposes.

My invention comprises a hollow handle provided with a roller at one end to apply the liquid to the surface or-object that is to receive it, the end of the handle being perforated to form one or more outlets through which liquid may pass from the inside of the handle to the roller, and a valved air-inlet in the handle to supply air to the inside of the handle to allow the liquid to flow out when desired. The perforations are minute,so that the liquid will ordinarily be retained in the handle by the atmospheric pressure, so that the appliance emits the liquid only when the valve is open. By this contrivance I am able to secure a ready discharge of liquid when required and yet to prevent leakage with only a single valve, which is easily operated by the hand of the user when he desires the liquid to flow.

It is an object of my invention to provide a superior device of this kind which can be filled with water or other liquid and then carried in the pocket or allowed to lie upon a desk or elsewhere for an indefinite time and be constantly ready for instant use for applying the liquid in small even quantity for moistening stamps, envelops, and for other uses and which will retain the liquid practically without evaporation or leakage.

The appliance will be made of different sizes for different uses.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention in its preferred form, a body of absorbent material being shown to distributethe liquid evenly upon the roller.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention as applied in a stamp and envelop moistener ready for use. Fig. 2 is an axial section of the same on line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3. is an end view of the device. Fig. 4 is a sectional detail of the lower end of the appliance on line hollow handle A, beveled at one end, as at a,

and provided with a cap a at the other end, the shell of said handle being provided at the beveled end with an external chamber a,with bearings 00' at the ends of such chamber, and also perforated, as at 00", to admit liquid to the chamber from the interior of the handle.

B indicates an absorbent body or packing in the chamber. It is held in place by a pin C, which is inserted through the bearings 01' to retain the absorbent body in the chamber over a roller D and. between it and the perforation a The roller D is journaled in the bearings to form the outer wall of the external chamber a and to contact with the absorbent body B. The absorbent body fills the chan1- her and extends along the whole length of the roller.

E indicates a valved opening in the cap to admit air into the reservoir of the handle. 6 indicates the valve for such opening.

The roller D is of such diameter that it projects beyond the extended planes of the beveled faces a of the discharge end of the handle, so that the handle can be held at quite an acute angle with the surface to which the liquid may be applied without contacting with such surface while the roller is in engagement therewith.

In practice the handlewill ordinarily be filled with water or other desired liquid, the cap being removed for this purpose. When the handle is filled, the cap is screwed home. The valve E may be pressed open to allow the esca pe of air while the cap is being screwed home, thus avoiding forcing water out unnecessarily through the perforation cU'. The valve is'normally held closed by the spring 6.

To use the device, the handle will be grasped in the hand of the operator, and if the absorbent material has not already been wet sufficiently the valve will be pressed to admit air into the handle, thus allowing the water to flow down into the absorbent body and through it to the moistening-roller, which in turning takes up the moisture and applies it to moisten the surface over which it rolls. The absorbent body distributes the moisture along the roller, so that the whole face of the roller will be moistened when the roller is rolled over a surface. It is to be understood that any required number of holes, such as the perforation a"", may be used for an outlet to admit liquid from the handle to the roller; but I deem one such hole sufficient when the absorbent body is used. The absorbent body is preferably a piece of sponge. The margins of the cavity which forms the chamber a" come close to the roller, so that the absorbent body is normally concealed.

Now, having described my invention, What Iclaim as n ew, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination with a hollow handle provided with an air-inlet at one end and with a chamber at the other end, the end wall of the handle forming the inner wall of the chamber and being perforated to allow liquid to pass into the chamber from the hollow of the handle; of a roller journaled to substantially close the mouth of the chamher; and an absorbent packing extending from end to end of the roller and filling the chamber between the roller and the perforations.

2. A liquid-distributer comprising a hollow handle beveled at one end and provided 35 with a cap at the other end; the shell of said handle being provided at the beveled end with a chamber and with bearings at the ends of such chamber and also perforated to admit liquid to the chamber from the interior of the handle; an absorbent body in the chamber; a pin inserted through said bearings to retain the absorbent body in the chamber; a roller journaled in the hearings to contact with the absorbent body and form the outer wall of the chamber; and a valve to admit air into the handle.

The combination of a valved handle provided with a reservoir and having a wedgeshaped end, an open chamber extending, along the wedge edge, and having the wall between the reservoir and the chamber perforated, and also having lugs closing the ends of the chamber and perforated to form journalbearings; a roller jonrnaled in said bearings and substantially closing the mouth of said chamber; and a packing of absorbent material in said chamber between the perforated wall and the roller.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 13th day of September, 1895).

CHARLES P. SMITH.

Witnesses:

JAMES R. TOWNSEND, J. TOWNSEND. 

